Happy Monday! Hope you're all rested from the weekend, ready and recharged for another week! Life has been a bit of a roller coaster lately - ever feel like the days are just passing by too fast?! Where does the time go?

Since I have such a busy schedule, I need my make up to keep up with me. This year marks Make Up For Ever's 30th anniversary and they've been releasing so many products that I am constantly reaching for. Not because they're new and hot, but because they're long wearing and put up with my 12+ hour days. The latest product to be released to celebrate their anniversary is actually a relaunch of their first ever product: eyeshadow!

Meet the new Artist Shadow collection: 210 eyeshadows in 5 different finishes (matte, satin, iridescent, metal & diamond), which took over three years to produce and perfect. The launch of this product officially makes the Artist Shadow line the most extensive one available on the market. Leave it up to MUFE to set the bar high! The collection promises vivid colour payoff and superior blendability and I am loving the performance of this product so far.

The product is available in single, duo, and trio formats which are fully customisable, as the pans easily fit in and pop out of the case. I typically gravitate to neutral shades and received shades S-556 (left) and ME-658 (right) to test out. Both are in the brown family, with S-556 being mushroom/taupe shade with a satin finish, and ME-658 being a warm bronze with a metal finish. The pigment payoff in these shadows is amazing. As you can see above, the swatches were done with a very light touch and came out highly pigmented. The consistency of both shades is soft, smooth, and easily blendable, giving over 8+ hours of wear before fading. Although the metal shade gives off a great shine, the satin shade has my heart with it's soft sheen. It appears as a matte shade in the pan, but it is easier to work with given that it isn't overly shimmery.

I had a chance to see many of the shades in the range up close and many of them are stunning. If you're in the market for new shades and a shadow that will last throughout the day, check out the new collection. After all, you've got 210 shades to choose from!

Available via Make Up For Ever Boutiques and Sephora across Canada for $24 (Discounts apply when you buy more!).

*Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration of a review.

Just a quick note to those interested in the Old Navy Rockstar Jeggings, Old Navy just released a 30% off online code! Enter NEWYOU at checkout. Ends 1/19.

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Woop woop, the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette is finally in my hands and I have it here to share with you today. I've tried so hard to get this palette in every way possible.. and I'm glad to finally have it in my posession. On the day of the release back in December, I was all set and ready to order it the minute it came out. But to my dismay, Urban Decay does not ship outside of the US! So I figured.. I have a US address to send to, so I must be able to get it! But then, they didn't accept my Canadian credit card or paypal account.. so I called it a day. The minute it was released on the Sephora website I snagged it.. then it took over 2 weeks to reach me. But now the wait is over.. and so is my rambling.

The Naked2 palette was highly anticipated prior to the release, but I know some people are feeling disappointed due to the similarity and lack of mattes in this palette. I personally do not mind owning a second neutral palette, because that's what I like to do when I wear makeup. Keep it simple and elegant.

So let's get to it. This will be a picture heavy post!

note: my palette came without the brush! But Urban Decay has taken care of me and is sending a replacement brush. UD, if you are reading this, thank you!



Packaging. The Naked2 Palette is a upgraded version of the original Naked palette, with improved packaging, with cooler toned shades. What I really love about the packaging is how sturdy it is. Unlike the original velvet packaging with a magnetic closure, the Naked2 palette is housed inside sturdy plastic with a snap closure. This way, I don't have to worry as much about bringing the product with me when I go travelling. The material used to construct the palette is also much more user friendly. The velvet of the original was prone to collecting dust and fuzzies - not to mention very difficult to clean if any makeup was spilled on it! The new plastic material is much easier to clean, and the embossing gives something extra to grip and hold onto.









In addition, this new palette features a much larger mirror for use. I personally don't like using the mirrors inside palettes, but this can be especially useful for those of you that like to do makeup on the go, or need to do touch-ups throughout the day. It gives you more space to work with, so you don't have to put your face so close to palette just to do your makeup.

Swatches.


full palette swatch




{ Foxy | Half Baked | Bootycall | Chopper }

Foxy is a matte cream shade, ideal for the inner corner or highlighting the browbone. Half Baked is a metallic gold, and the eyeshadow itself is so soft & buttery. This would look beautiful in the inner corner/inner half of the eyelid! Bootycall is light champagne tone with a subtle sheen. Also great for highlighting the browbone! Chopper is a beautiful metallic rose gold, with a similar buttery texture to half baked. The two metallic shades of these four are so incredibly pigmented!




{ Tease | Snakebite | Suspect | Pistol }

Tease is a strongly pink matte taupe, while Snakebite is a dark bronze with a slight metallic sheen. Suspect is a pale, golden beige with a hint of shimmer, whereas Pistol is a shimmery gray brown.




{ Verve | YDK | Busted | Blackout }

Verve is a beige pearl shimmer, sitting beside YDK, which is a cooler bronze in comparison to Snakebite, but with a metallic finish. Busted is a milk chocolate brown shimmer. Blackout is a deep matte black, but is not as pigmented as I anticipated. The formula is a little drier, leading to the splotchy swatch.

The original Naked palette contained many warmer brown shades, whereas the Naked2 has cooler, greige and taupe based shades in addition to some warm (eg. half baked, chopper). In all honesty, it is possible to go with either of the palettes. If you don't yet own either Naked palette from Urban Decay, I would recommend the Naked2 solely based on the convenient, updated packaging.

Which palette do I favour? I'll let you find out after I try this Naked2 palette out a little more!

The palette will be available in American Sephora stores by the end of this month. For us Canadians, I've been told it will arrive at the end of February. Otherwise it is currently available from both Urban Decay and Sephora online.